I drank 4 glasses of white white 3 days before surgery. Is it safe?

Question

I drank 4 glasses of white white 3 days before surgery. As hard as it is to believe I forgot about staying away from it. Is it still safe for me to go for the procedure? I am having breast augmentation, eye bag repositioning and double lid lift and fat graft. Please help I'm freaking out

Larry S. Nichter, MD, MS, FACS · Answer

Each Plastic Surgeon has their own view point on this and I would suggest you speak with your plastic surgeon. The reason that it is suggested that you stop or have minimal alcohol leading up to your surgery is that if can effect the metabolism (how fast the drugs last) of the anesthesia and pain medicines afterwards and can cause bleeding problems during surgery. Definitely do not drink and take pain medicines afterwards as it can cause you to stop breathing in certain circumstances.My suggestions to my patients is to have no more than one glass of wine or beer per day 2 weeks before surgery and preferably stop a week prior to surgery, resuming after pain medicines have stopped and you are back to your normal routine. You should discuss this with your surgeon.

Richard Baxter, MD · Answer

There are 2 concerns with drinking before surgery:If your are a heavy drinker, it can affect your anesthesia and postoperative pain management. For that reason you should be completely honest with your anesthesia provider, but if a few glasses of wine several days before surgery is the only issue it should not be a problem.Alcohol is an anticoagulant, so it can increase your risk of bleeding. This effect only lasts 24 hours so your glasses of wine several days before surgery should be OK.

Nelson Castillo, MD · Answer

Thank you for your question.  I would definitely disclose the alcohol consumption to your surgeon, but it is unlikely to cause your procedure to be cancelled or moved.

Elisa A. Burgess, MD · Answer

Questions like this are best addressed by your surgeon.  In my practice, we try to screen people for their drinking habits.  If they have severe drinking problems then we do not offer them surgery and try to encourage them to seek help.  If they are moderate and reasonable social drinkers, then we advise them to not drink alcohol the day before surgery.

Andrea Marando, MD · Answer

I agree with my previous colleague. Different surgeons might have different guidelines with regards to alcohol before surgery. I normally recommend my patients not to drink any alcohol for at least 10 days in preparation of surgery, but I am aware of different opinions on this.Please do contact your surgeon and I am confident he/she will be able to assist you, also in relationship to the extent of your operation.Best of luckAndrea Marando

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I drank 4 glasses of white white 3 days before surgery. Is it safe?

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Answer: Alcohol and surgery. I drank 4 glasses of white white 3 days before surgery. Is it safe?

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